The Championship is back, and with 24 clubs battling it out over another long and unpredictable campaign, trying to predict exactly what will happen is almost impossible.
But that’s half the fun.
There are plenty of obvious promotion contenders this season, with the likes of West Ham, Burnley and Middlesbrough expected to be involved at the top end of the table.
But we’re not interested in simply picking the favourites.
Here are five bold predictions for the 2026/27 Championship season.
1. Southampton Will Seriously Underperform
This might be my boldest prediction of the lot.
Southampton have the quality to challenge near the top of the Championship, but I think everything surrounding the club could make this season incredibly difficult.
The fallout from the infamous Spygate scandal has followed Southampton into the new campaign, with the club already starting the season under a four-point deduction. The controversy also saw Southampton removed from last season’s play-offs after their spying on Middlesbrough was confirmed.
Tonda Eckert has kept his job, but the pressure is going to be enormous.
Southampton are going to receive hostile receptions around the country, and every poor result is likely to bring the controversy back into the spotlight.
They have enough quality to be near the top, but I’m not convinced they’ll handle the pressure.
My prediction: Southampton finish between 10th and 14th.
That might look ridiculous by May.
But I’m sticking with it, for now!
2. Cardiff City Will Finish Above Lincoln City and Bolton Wanderers
Cardiff City might not be one of the clubs being talked about as a potential promotion contender, but I think they could quietly have a better season than many people expect.
Lincoln City and Bolton Wanderers both deserve plenty of credit for earning promotion, but stepping up to the Championship is a completely different challenge.
Cardiff have considerably more experience of playing at this level, and I think that could prove important over a 46-game season.
There will be difficult periods for all three clubs, but I think Cardiff are better equipped to deal with them.
The Championship can be brutal for newly promoted sides.
My prediction: Cardiff finish above both Lincoln City and Bolton Wanderers.
It might not be the most outrageous prediction on this list, but I think Cardiff could comfortably outperform some of the early expectations surrounding them.
3. Middlesbrough, West Ham and Burnley Will Dominate the Promotion Race
If you asked me to pick the three clubs I expect to be involved in the promotion race throughout the season, I’d go with:
Middlesbrough.
West Ham United.
Burnley.
West Ham have retained plenty of Premier League-quality talent and are naturally one of the favourites for an immediate return to the top flight. Burnley also have plenty of experience at the highest level.
Then there’s Middlesbrough.
They’ve made some serious moves in the transfer market and clearly have ambitions of going one better after narrowly missing out on promotion last season. Their recruitment, including the arrival of Will Lankshear, suggests they mean business.
But here’s my bold call: Middlesbrough will win the Championship.
West Ham might be the obvious choice.
Burnley have the Premier League experience.
But I’m backing Middlesbrough to get the job done.
4. Mateus Mané Will Become One of the Championship’s Breakout Stars
Every season there seems to be a young player who suddenly goes from being a promising prospect to one of the most exciting players in the division.
This season, I’m backing Mateus Mané.
The 18-year-old Wolves forward has already shown flashes of his ability and is one of the young players being highlighted as someone to watch in the Championship this season.
Wolves have plenty of experience around him, including players such as Kieran Trippier and Raúl Jiménez, which could give Mané the platform to really develop.
If he gets consistent minutes and stays fit, I think he could become one of the names that everyone is talking about by the end of the season.
My prediction: Mateus Mané finishes the season as one of the Championship’s biggest young stars.
And if Wolves bounce straight back to the Premier League, don’t be surprised if Mané has played a major part in it.
5. QPR Will Sneak Into the Top Eight
Now we’re getting personal.
I’m a QPR fan, so perhaps I’m allowing a little bit of bias into this one.
But I’m going for it anyway.
Queens Park Rangers will finish in the top eight.
QPR aren’t being widely tipped as one of the Championship’s leading promotion contenders, and after a disappointing second half of last season, there are plenty of reasons for people to be cautious about their chances.
But Saturday’s opening-day win over Portsmouth has certainly given me reason to be optimistic.
QPR came from behind to win 3-1 at Portsmouth, with Ilias Chair scoring twice and Koki Saito also getting on the scoresheet.
Of course, one game doesn’t suddenly make QPR promotion contenders.
There are still 45 league games to play.
But if QPR can find consistency, keep key players fit and build on that opening-day performance, I don’t see why a top-eight finish should be completely out of the question.
My prediction: QPR finish in the top eight.
So, How Will We Get On?
Let’s be honest — there’s a very good chance I’ll get some of these completely wrong.
That’s the beauty of making predictions before we know how the season will unfold.
But that’s also why I’m putting them on record now.
Southampton 10th–14th.
Cardiff finish above Lincoln and Bolton.
Middlesbrough win the Championship.
Mateus Mané becomes a breakout star.
QPR finish in the top eight.
Come back in May and we’ll see whether I look like a genius… or whether I was completely wrong. Either way, it’s all just a bit of fun!